1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connector and adapter structures. Such connectors are used in the electronics industry in cables and adapters and similar devices that connect components. The invention discloses a connector or adapter housing structure with a raised portion. When plastic is molded around the housing, the raised portion is left exposed. This exposed portion of the housing provides a place to incorporate designs, such as business logos or gripping surfaces.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The variety of electronics connectors is large, but they share similarities in their manufacture and assembly. FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a conventional cable connector 10. The most common cable connectors have a metal housing 14 with a back end 19 through which a cable 13 is inserted. A connector plug 12 with pins or receptacles (not shown), designed to plug into the appropriate part on a component (not shown), is attached to the front end 22 of the connector 10. The cable 13 contains electrical conductors or wires 21 which are connected by soldering or crimping to the inward projections 23 of the pins or receptacles. Over the metal housing 14, plastic is injection molded to form an outer plastic covering 11. The plastic covering 11 often terminates around the cable 13 to form a “strain relief” 16 that prevents the cable from bending too sharply.
To provide a place for a manufacturer's name or for part identification, the plastic covering 11 of conventional connectors is sometimes molded with a recess 20. In the recess 20, identifying logos, designs, words, or numbers are often formed in the molding process, leaving raised or indented surfaces (not shown) in the plastic covering 11. Or, a label (not shown) can be affixed in the recess 20 after molding. Some designs have a raised surface design by placing the cable connector 10 or adapter in a second injection mold and adding a second plastic surface 15. This two-step molding process allows different colors or textures of plastic to be used.
Recent designs use transparent plastic in the molded plastic covering 11, so that the parts and surfaces below, such as the housing 14, can be seen. This design has been popularized by the Macintosh “iMac” computers. The iMac products use transparent plastic outer shells or materials to show the parts and surfaces below. Computer connector and adapter assemblies have been created that mimic this feature. However, the transparent plastic surfaces do not provide a surface on which logos or information can be easily discerned. To solve this problem, some connectors and adapters have identifying logos or information incorporated onto the metal housing 14, so that the logos or information may be seen beneath the transparent plastic covering 11. But the result is imperfect, since the transparent plastic obscures the housing surface and design below.
Similar structures are used for other connector shapes, such as cylindrical connectors, and for adapters.